LONGMEADOW, Mass. — The widow of an Air National Guard pilot who died in an F-15 jet crash in Virginia said Saturday that members of his Massachusetts wing unit planted 40 rose bushes in her yard, carrying out his promise to mark her birthday.

Kara Fontenot, joined by her daughters Natalie and Nicole, said at a memorial gathering at the Longmeadow Town Green that she was gratified to see hundreds of friends and neighbors pay their respects to her husband, Lt. Col. Morris "Moose" Fontenot Jr.